-If you're this far, you probably know it
already, but to make sure: This story doesn't counteract the
respect I feel towards Jeri Ryan and Kate Mulgrew.

-Please don't post or copy anything of the story without my
authorisation. (I'll give it to you, I just want to know where my
stories circulate ;) )

-Story contains two women in a loving
relationship (Yeah, it's possible ;) )So if that's not your kind
of thing, keep on searching, I'm sure there are lots of
heterosexual-related fanfic stories to your liking somewhere else on
the net ;) If this sort of stuff is forbidden (either by your parents
or your government) make sure it's well hidden ;)

-Last one: feedback=wonderful! :P
please let me now if you enjoyed the story 

Summary:Will
a rumour overheard in engineering destroy the happiness our Captain
and resident Borg have found?

Rumours and red alerts

The red
alert had ended. The Captain, Kathryn, had fought off the hostile
aliens yet another time. I experienced the strange sensation
described as 'butterflies' in my abdomen again as I recalled how
Kathryn stood up against the 'bullies', as she called them.

Since our
encounter only minutes before the red alert we have not seen each
other off duty, for we are both working double shifts to help in the
reparations of voyager to recover from the attack. When our shifts
end, Kathryn always goes straight to her quarters for an exhausted
sleep while I go to regenerate or just continue working on the
repairs.

I
was working in engineering, helping
lieutenant Torres conduct repairs while she completely ignored me.
Actually I am grateful of that, because ignorance is preferable to
her outburst. While I was concentrating on the repairs, I could not
help my enhanced hearing from picking up on the conversation Lt.
Torres was having with a lower ensign under her command.

"I'm
telling you, they're a couple!"

"How do
you figure? Give!"

"So…
they're fucking each other senseless… what else are those dinners
the Commander's always having with the Captain? They're just
excuses to have a valid reason to be there at night! Besides,
Chakotay's told me he's been courting her for months now!"

I felt
sick in my stomach. Was it true? Where Kathryn and Commander Chakotay
really… No. Kathryn said she loves me, she would never… and she
had not made love for years when we first did. But she would say
those things if she where seeing the Commander too, would she not?

Because of
my inner turmoil I did not notice how tight the grip of my
Borg-enhanced left hand on the spanner I was holding had become until
it gave away with a snap and broke in two pieces. Lt. Torres looked
up and opened her mouth to yell at me again, but before she could say
something I murmured an apology and turned on my heels out of
engineering.

My stomach
felt strange, moisture filled my eyes and I shook all over my body. I
had to be malfunctioning, so I rounded the corridor and went to
sickbay, where the Doctor turned towards me.

"Seven!
What's wrong?"

"I am
malfunctioning, Doctor."

He took a
tricorder and started scanning me with a worried look on his face.

"Your
hormone levels are elevated, as are some of your brain functions, but
that indicates nothing serious. I'm sorry, but I can't find
anything wrong with you."

It all
came out in a high-pitched voice, definitely not my normal composed
tones.

"Seven,
you're just distressed. What happened?"

I just
stared at the doors, from where Kathryn had just entered. She
immediately stepped towards us.

"Seven?
Doctor? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's
wrong."

The Doctor
emphasized. Suddenly irritated with him, I snapped:

"Computer,
deactivate EMH."

Kathryn
came over to me, placing her hands on my knees while she positioned
herself between my legs.

"Annika,
what's wrong? I'm worried about you."

Tough she
tried to catch my gaze, I did not return it, instead looking at a
point over her left shoulder. It hurt too much to be this close to
her while I did not know…

"Is it
true?"

"Is what
true, love? You're scaring me."

I turned
my head and looked her straight in the eye. I could see her worries
as she saw the tears in my eyes and she gently brushed them away.

"Is it
true you are copulating with Commander Chakotay?"

I
asked angrily, but there was still a shimmer of fear made
my voice waver. Kathryn flinched a bit at my words.

"Of
course not, darling. I love only you, and I only make love with you,
and with nobody else. Where did you get that idea?"

"I
overheard Lt. Torres say the Commander had told her…"

She
lovingly cupped my face in both of her hands. I closed my eyes and
revelled in her warmth, her scent. Then she kissed me softly on my
mouth, our lips barely touching.

"I'm
not in
love with Chakotay, or with anybody else for that matter. I love only
you, Annika, and I only make love with you. Do you trust me on this?"

I felt her
breath travel across my lips and brought our mouths together again,
softly kissing her and feeling reassured by the loving gesture.

"Yes.
But it just hurt so much to think-"

"Shh
love, it's alright."

She
let her arms slip around my neck and I
pulled her close by using my hands on her waist to guide her in my
embrace. She turned her head and placed a series of soft, loving
kisses on my lips, gradually deepening them. I felt the familiar heat
of my desire for her rise and crossed my legs behind her, efficiently
pushing our pelvises closer together and bringing as much of her body
as possible in contact with mine. She immediately fell in and
deepened our kiss, letting our tongues tangle together while she
softly moaned in my mouth. We did not hear the soft swoosh of the
opening of the doors to sickbay, but we did hear the

"Kahless!
Captain-"

B'Elanna
shouted before she was interrupted by the Doctor materialising.
Kathryn let her head drop on my shoulder and murmured something even
I with my enhanced hearing could not hear. She gave me a peck on my
throat before she turned around with her command mask firmly in
place.

"Lt.
Torres, it is brought to my attention that you were discussing
certain aspects of my private life with a member of your staff while
on duty."

B'Elanna's
gaze settled on me for 1.6 seconds before it settled on Kathryn back
again. I was certain I had a smug look on my face and I tried to
swipe it away, but it was a hard thing to do at the sight of a
speechless B'Elanna Torres.

"I will
not have my private life discussed, not on duty, not off duty. Is
that clear?"

She cast a
force 10 glare at B'Elanna, who squirmed under it.

"I-I
understand, Captain."

By then,
the Doctor had mostly recovered from the sight that had greeted him
when he materialised and he went over to the lieutenant, fussing and
murmuring to himself as he treated the wound on her arm. Kathryn
turned to me and murmured in my ear:

"We have
to make these repairs first love, but it shouldn't be too long now.
Will you come to my quarters when this is all over?"

"I will,
Kathryn."

I kissed
her softly on her lips.

"I love
you."

She kissed
me back.

"I love
you, too."

Then
she flicked her tongue over my lips, pulled
back and strolled out of sickbay, leaving me with a dazed smile on my
lips. When I turned, I saw Lt. Torres look at me with an unreadable
expression on her face as she jumped off her biobed and caught up
with me on our way back to engineering.

"So…
you and the Captain? How did that happen?"

"Lt.
Torres, I will not discuss my private life, nor the Captain's with
you, since it is not for public consumption."

She came
to a sudden halt and I stopped to look at her. She took a deep
breath.

"Look…
Seven, about earlier… I'm sorry. I was wrong, and I was making
assumptions about something I shouldn't have been discussing. And I
know hearing that hurt you, if that broken scanner is any indication.
I'm really sorry about that. I know I've been behaving pretty
cool around you, and it was because of some presumptions I had, and
I, of all people, should know that they don't say anything about
someone. The thing is… I haven't really given you a chance.
Please let me do something to make that right. It's just… the
Captain's in love with you, and she wouldn't fall for just
anyone. So… I can't promise I'll like you, but I want to give
you a chance, if you'll give me one, too."

She took
another deep breath and looked at me with what I think was
nervousness. I nodded slowly, giving her a hesitant look, at which
she smiled broadly.

"Come
on, if we don't hurry we'll be late."

So
we started walking towards engineering again, the tension between us
having disappeared. As we returned to engineering, the Lt. and I
interacted in a more friendly manner and I was highly aware of the
confused and curious looks of the rest of the team,
but I was just relieved the yelling and the rudeness had stopped.

When my
duty shift ended, the repairs where almost complete: the damage would
be gone when my next duty shift began and I was looking forward
already to it's end. Since I knew I would be expending much energy
tomorrow evening, I programmed a lengthy regeneration cycle during
which I constantly saw flashes of Kathryn's face and of our times
together.

The
crewmembers who entered cargo bay 2 during my regeneration cycle were
surprised at the smile that graced my features the entire night.

TBC…

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